


Scars of the Past

by FuryTigresse



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Developing Relationship, Eventual Romance, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Happy Ending, He works with Dante and keeps him debt-free, Post Devil May Cry 5, Post-Game(s), Vergil is there too but he's a support character, and dante being sweet, emotional scars, it sounds dark but i promise it's mostly fluff, past trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-06-24 00:05:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19712278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuryTigresse/pseuds/FuryTigresse
Summary: Dante's crush has a traumatic past, and swore to never have a man in her life again. But Dante has an offer: a one-month trial, during which he'll try showing her that relationships can be fun and good.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Oooh boy, I haven't been around in a little while. In case you were wondering, no, I haven't stopped writing, it's just that I was trying to finish this before posting any of it, but I sprained my ankle pretty badly (to the point where I had to walk with a cane for almost two weeks, and even now it still hurts in certain positions and when I'm tired, and I have to walk with an ankle brace), and that made me unable to sit in my usual writing spot (on the floor, in front of the low table in my living room). Inspiration is a fickle thing, and my usual spot is key for me to focus, so I straight-up couldn't write much of anything. But I'm starting to get better, so here's a start!
> 
> This is my first fanfic in like, 8 years? In which the narration will be from the reader's perspective. It starts in the next chapter.
> 
> As usual, my first language isn't English and I type pretty fast, so feel free to let me know if you see mistakes and/or typos :)

Vergil glanced up from his papers, wondering why his brother was being so suspiciously quiet. Dante was at his desk, feet propped up. He had a magazine in hand, but he wasn't reading it. In fact, he seemed lost in thought, which was not something that usually happened.

"Dante," the older twin said softly, pulling the other from his thoughts and making him turn toward him.  
"Yeah, Vergil?"  
"You're awfully quiet tonight."

He didn't mind the silence, but it was very unusual for his twin to not be loudly disrupting his work with music or weird dances or bragging about his latest mission.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Dante huffed, putting his magazine down on his desk.

Vergil finished what he was working on - a.k.a. making absolutely sure that Devil May Cry's latest client had paid in full, otherwise he'd need to go get that money himself - then put his pen down. He made sure he had capped it, since it was a fountain pen Nero had given him for Father's Day and he refused to allow it to dry up, and he pushed his papers to the side. There. He was ready to listen, as Dante putting down his magazine was usually a sign that he needed to talk.

"Remember that gig, about four months ago, with that client who needed us because there were weird sneaky demons at her job getting everyone sick all the time?" he started.  
"Of course I remember. Who do you think I am? Nero?"  
"I keep forgetting you have a brain, brother. Anyway. I uh, I met up with her several times after that."

Vergil raised a brow at his brother at that. Met up with a _client_? Dante rolled his eyes, knowing that Vergil was very ready to give him shit for it if he didn't explain himself immediately.

"I accidentally ran into her at the grocery store. We talked, and then we just decided to hang out."  
"She's a _client_ , Dante."  
"I know, I know! But she's really sweet, and really funny, and- Vergil, I think I have a crush on her."

Normally, Vergil would have laughed at him or something. It had been a year since they had come back from Hell. They were forty-three years old. And his brother was talking like a teen who had no experience at all. Not that Vergil had any, but still.

"I see," he opted to say instead of laughing.

Dante was looking at him with a vulnerable look in his eyes, one that didn't translate too well on his rugged, rougher facial features, but that Vergil could recognize from spending so much time with his brother in the past year. He couldn't mock him in that situation.

"Does she fancy you as well?" he asked. Better try to help him out at least a bit.  
"I- I don't know. I think so. I mean, she asked me to hang out too. She smiles a lot when we're together. I'm pretty positive I haven't been friendzoned, since she also smiles when I flirt with her a little."  
"But? I can tell there's a but."  
"But she doesn't let me get close to her. Mostly physically, but also... emotionally, I guess? Light flirting, she's okay with, and she thinks I'm cheesy and it makes her smile. But anything further or deeper... her scent just- she smells upset. Like, a lot."  
"Have you tried asking her?"

He couldn't _believe_ they were talking about this. But then again, it wasn't like they had much of anyone else to discuss those things with. Maybe Lady would have listened, but Dante didn't want to appear weak in front of her. Trish might have just teased him. Maybe Morrison would have- nah. They didn't know Kyrie enough to tell her about this. And Nero? Nero would have straight-up laughed in Dante's face, most probably. So yes, Vergil could understand why his brother was telling _him_ about that stuff. It was still weird though, and he was probably the _worst_ at giving relationship advice. Abandoning a pregnant woman, ripping his own son's arm, trying to kill his brother.... yeah, he sucked at relationships.

And Dante definitely knew that too, but he still hoped that Vergil being someone else than himself would help him better understand the situation. And, so far, yeah, that helped him.

"You know what? I haven't dared ask her yet. I thought maybe it was just too soon or whatever, but it's been months, and she seems interested in me. I don't get her. So... yeah, I guess I should ask her about that."  
"Do try not to make it sound like this is her fault, Dante."  
"Don't worry, Vergil. I got this. You can go back to your budget management."

Vergil sighed, but nodded. He turned to finish working on his papers while Dante grabbed the phone.

"Hey, cutie. It's Dante, your favorite Devil Hunter. Are you free tomorrow?"


	2. Scarred

You smiled when you saw Dante crossing the street, dressed with his usual red leather coat. His black shirt underneath it was opened just enough to tease, but you could tell it wasn't his usual one: the sleeves, rolled up along with his coat's, weren't as tattered. He had decided to forego his fingerless gloves that day, but he still had tight pants and big leather boots. You had no idea how he could be comfortable like that when it was pretty warm outside, but hey, Dante was Dante, and it was a blessing that he didn't stink even when he got a bit sweaty.

"Hey there, cutie! It's good to see you, little kitty," he greeted you with a smile.

His words were filled with fondness and they made you smile back at him, as usual when Dante called you cute nicknames.

"Good to see you too, Dante. Where are we going today?"  
"There's this park nearby. I felt like going to walk there, if that's okay with you?"  
"Sure."

You headed there with Dante, talking on the way there. It felt like usual, relaxing and fun. You met up pretty often to just hang out and walk like that. But this time, you could see that the handsome half-demon wasn't entirely as relaxed as he usually was. The last time he had looked so nervous was when he had decided to tell you that he was the son of the Legendary Dark Knight, and you had been a bit skeptical until he had made a sword - also named Dante, apparently - appear in his hand.

This time, you really weren't sure what kind of dark secret he could reveal to you. You already knew he had a twin brother and a nephew, and that the former had raised all sorts of demonic abominations into the human world in search for their father's power, or something like that. What else could Dante be nervous about?

"Dante, out with it," you suddenly said.  
"Uh?"

He looked at you with eyes full of guilt, like a child caught lying. You sighed.

"You want to say something, so. Out with it."  
"How did you know?"  
"Call it feminine intuition, cowboy, and stop stalling."  
"Right. Sorry. I'm just trying to find a good way to say it."

You agreed to let him think about it a little. Dante wasn't great with words - or at least not with _serious_ words - and you knew that. You still appreciated the effort though. Finally, after a few minutes spent in silence, you heard him clear his throat.

"So, little kitty... I just wanted to ask something, actually. And feel free to tell me if you'd rather not answer, I can understand that it's probably... anyway, I was wondering if I'm not good enough for you."

You stared at him for a few seconds, confused, until he explained himself better, fingers rubbing against his stubble.

"I know, I know, that sounds weird, and really out of the blue. But... I mean, I'm gonna be honest: I like you. A lot. And I'd love to, ya know. Be with you. And sometimes, you seem interested. You don't cringe when I flirt with you or when I call you affectionate nicknames. But the minute I try getting closer, you get upset. You think bad thoughts, enough that I can tell from your scent. Which brings me back to my question: am I not good enough for you? I can take your answer. If you don't want this to go any further-"

You shook your head, making him stop talking.

"That's not it, Dante."  
"Then what is it?"  
"I can't."  
"You can't...? Why?"

It was your turn to feel nervous. Nobody had ever taken this the way you wanted them to before. But you had to tell him. It wasn't his fault.

"I've had _one_ boyfriend before and, believe me, I don't want men in my life anymore."

Not like that, at least. As friends, they were fine, for the most part, but as lovers... You shuddered at the memory. Men were trash lovers. You couldn't keep the hurt and anger out of your face when you went into more details about your past, keeping an eye on Dante's expression.

"When I was a teen, I watched all my friends fall in love, and most of them dating someone else after a while. Nobody was interested in me. Then I went to a friend's birthday party, and there was this one guy who showed interest in me. I'm not sure if I ever loved him, or if I was in love with the fact that someone was finally interested in me. But we ended up together. At first, everything was okay, but then..."

Then, he had started monitoring your activities, accusing you of cheating on him if you didn't log in with Skype every night at exactly 9PM, forcing you to cancel days out with your friends so that you'd be with him instead, threatening to break up with you and leave you all alone if you didn't allow him to visit you every single weekend, even when you had piles and piles of homework and no time for anything else. But the worst part had probably been his constant _needs_. Several times a day, he'd force you on the bed, whenever he was with you, and make his way into your pants. If you said no, he'd say you didn't love him, that he might as well leave you. And you hadn't been able to refuse. He'd wake you up at night by touching you in your sleep, push into you with no protection while you were barely conscious. He had never taken no for an answer.

You told Dante all of that, and you swore you could see red cracks appearing on is skin, his eyes glowing as he barely contained his Devil Trigger. He took a deep breath that sounded more like a repressed growl as you finished:

"I left him after a year and a half because I had no freedom anymore. I didn't cry when I was finally free."

But you still had to bear the scars of something that had happened decades ago. And you had sworn never to let another man control you like that. That promise to yourself had led you to reject a fair share of men, all of which had promised that _they_ weren't like that, that you shouldn't apply one past experience to _all_ men, because, and you were sick of that line, "not all men are like that". Yet all of them were clingy messes, all of them had been glued to you even prior to confessing to you, all of them had ignored your trauma or tried to minimize it, saying that you had to get over it and move on. None of them had even _tried_ to understand that you had been borderline raped several times by someone you had trusted and tried your best to please.

You weren't sure what to think of Dante's reaction, however. He was the first one to react like that, even if you removed the whole demon blood thing. He was visibly angry, enraged even, and it took him a few minutes after you were done speaking before he was calm again, although his beautiful blue eyes were still burning with fury.

"Holy shit," he growled, and you could hear the anger in his voice. "I'd hate men too if I were you."

You touched his forearm, and noticed that he was shaking with emotion. He gently moved his arm back, away from your grip, and he shook his head.

"You don't need to do this if it makes you uncomfortable."

You shot him a surprised look. He... he was so... thoughtful. You knew he was more caring and more sensitive than he let people usually think, but still. That was...

"I'm okay with that much," you told him.  
"All right. Good."

Dante took one last deep breath and made sure to exhale all anger that remained within him. When he looked at you again, he was calm, albeit much more serious than usual.

"Would you... be willing to try something?" he asked, looking into your eyes.  
"... it depends...?"  
"Give me... one month. Yeah, one month should do nicely," he said, one finger in front of him.  
"One month? For what?"  
"It's like a free trial. Give me one month to show you that a relationship can be good. I won't try to get closer or to start anything that makes you uncomfortable. And 'no' is _always_ a valid answer, including to this suggestion. But if you accept, I'll show you that this can be good, and fun, and relaxing. Like- like dates, except that _nothing_ needs to happen, and I won't try anything. I'm not sure if that makes sense."

He had a sheepish smile.

"I'll be perfectly honest: I want an excuse to dress nicely and bring you flowers. And to bother Vergil until he teaches me how to cook your favorite dish. But, as I said! You can always say no, whether it's to my suggestion or to a date, or to all of them if you don't feel like seeing me."

You hesitated. It... made sense? Kind of? Dante wanted to take you out on dates. That much was clear. There was no obligation, which you liked. He wouldn't feel offended if you said no to one of them. Nor if you said no to all of them. Not even if you said no to this whole thing. Dates would be like hanging out, except that he'd probably be cheesier and sweeter than he already was. And well, if you were being honest with yourself, Dante was... well, he was pretty much everything you could want from a man, except maybe the demon blood, which could count as a bonus you hadn't expected anyone to have. He was funny, kind, courageous, incredibly handsome, and not broke anymore thanks to Vergil managing the finances at Devil May Cry. And, mostly, he had the decency to keep a mostly neutral expression right now so that you wouldn't feel pressured to accept. Dante was an amazing man.

But you were so scared to lose your freedom. You could remember the _misery_ of being forced into things you didn't want, the pressing need for _solitude_ that you were never able to get. You had it now. Would you still have it if you accepted Dante's suggestion?

A trial, you reminded yourself. One month, with nothing binding you to accept seeing Dante. You could say no to hanging out. You didn't need to kiss him or sleep with him. You didn't even need to hug him. It would be like now, except that Dante would look extra good and bring you flowers.

You took a deep breath. All right. Why not.

"Okay," you breathed out. "One month trial. What about after that?"  
"After that, you can decide. We can go right back to what we are right now. We can give it another month. Or you can decide that you never want to see me ever again. Whatever you choose, I'll respect your decision, cutie."

He hadn't even mentioned the possibility of being together with you for real. That made your heart hurt for him a bit.

"Thank you. Okay, then let's give it a try."

Dante's smile was warm and filled with pure happiness as he offered you a little reverence, his eyes locked into yours.

"Thanks for giving me a chance, cutie. How about we start now? The ice cream stand over there has amazing strawberry sundaes."

You laughed, but nodded, following Dante to the ice cream stand. His hands were twitching a bit, and you could tell he wanted to take yours. He kept them to himself, however, and you smiled. Okay. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what I've written so far! The rest is coming up, I'll try spending a little more time on this than on video games now that I can more or less sit in my preferred writing spot :) I hope you're looking forward to it!


	3. Afterwards, Dante...

"Vergil!!!!!!"

The older twin jumped in surprise and practically dropped his cup of tea. His brother had shouted right upon coming back from hanging out with that girl and he hadn't expected that. He heard loud stomping up the stairs as Dante decided to join him in the kitchen, where he had been reading and drinking tea while waiting for the oven to beep.

"Vergil!" Dante called out loudly when he entered the room.   
"I heard you the first time, Dante. I'm far from being deaf."   
"Brother, you won't believe it!"   
"Try me."   
"She accepted my suggestion! I have one month to-"   
"I don't believe it, indeed. How a woman could ever accept spending more time with you is beyond my comprehension."   
"Hey, I could say the same for you, mister I-got-a-girl-pregnant-and-left-her. Can't believe a woman endured you long enough to conceive Nero."

They glared at each other for a minute, before Vergil sighed and closed his book. Damn it.

"Fine. Since you look so eager to do so, tell me more about it."

Dante grinned, pleased, and sat with Vergil. An hour later, he was done telling his brother about his day. He had kept the details to himself, only saying that the girl he liked had a very good reason for getting upset at his attempts to get closer.

"And then, she accepted, and we went to eat strawberry sundaes. It was really fun. I let her borrow my coat afterwards because she was a bit cold. She was so cute."

Vergil could understand that last part: his inner devil had also really liked it when Nero's mother had borrowed his clothes, back then, during those happier days... Without getting into physical contacts, it had been the best way to get his scent on her, and it had greatly pleased his demonic side.

"It's good that it went well," he said, because except for a snarky comment, what else  _ could _ he say?

Still, that made Dante smile. That idiot was more excited than a kid on Christmas, sheesh.

"Yeah! Hey, where should I take her? What would be a good date spot?"   
"I have  _ no _ idea," Vergil sighed, exasperated.   
"Right, you're relationship-retarded. Never mind then, I'll find something on my own."

The insult only made Vergil groan. His only answer was that he took his book and started reading again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so short! I want to have a Dante's point of view chapter between the dates because I love that idiot and I love making him bicker with Vergil xD But sometimes, there isn't much to say. The next chapter is gonna be longer, I promise!


	4. The First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt terrible about the last chapter being so short, so I worked hard today to bring this one to you as well! We'll see how inspiration treats me over the next few days for the next ones though :p Hope you'll enjoy it!

You recognized the red coat before even seeing Dante's characteristic white hair. He was wearing this dumb hat that was apparently named Dr. Faust and that was also apparently a weapon. You knew Dante liked being armed at all times. Luckily, his gigantic sword could be summoned at will. You weren't sure you would have accepted hanging out in public with a guy who looked like he came straight out of Comic-Con or something.

Anyway, Dante didn't have his sword out at the moment, which was good. You had no problem hanging out with the flashy and stylish Devil Hunter, who was now walking in your direction at a breezy pace. He took Dr. Faust off and offered you a joyful grin and a playful little bow.

"Hey, cutie! I'm so glad you came."

You lifted an eyebrow at him, putting as much judgment into it as you could. It was nowhere near what Vergil could do - you had seen him stare Dante down once before - but it was still pretty good.

"What, you thought I wouldn't?" you joked while keeping a serious look on your face.  
"It's not that! I'm just really happy that you're here."

He seemed happy indeed, and you smiled at him, losing the seriousness, in order to reassure him that you were just teasing him. You were glad to see him too, and you _wanted_ to be there. You weren't feeling forced to do this.

"I'm happy to be there too. Anyway, where are we going, cowboy?"

He grinned as he put his hat back on, conscious of the look it gave him. He knew he rocked it as much as anyone ever could.

"We'll start with breakfast. You haven't eaten, right?"  
"You've told me not to, so nope."   
"Good! Then breakfast, and after that we're gonna go to the aquarium together. Sounds good?"   
"Oooh, the aquarium? That sounds great!"

He winked at you and quickly shoved his hands in his pockets, trying not to make it look obvious that he really wanted to take your hand and had to contain himself. He was a pretty thoughtful and sweet man behind the rougher exterior.

"I'm glad you like the idea. Let's get goin'!"

***

A few hours later, you were trying to ignore the cold in the air conditioned aquarium so that you could properly enjoy looking at the various types of fish that were swimming all around you. You were walking in a tunnel and there was water everywhere, with fish of all sizes and species doing their business. Some of them were huge, some were tiny. Some were colorful, and others you had to really stare hard before seeing them. Dante usually found those before you did, having much better eyesight than you did, and he made sure to point them out to you when he saw them.

You jumped a bit in surprise when something warm suddenly covered your shoulders, and you spun around to notice that Dante had taken his coat off and put it on you. He offered you a sheepish smile, looking half happy and half guilty.

"Sorry for that, I just- well, you looked cold. Figured I might as well lend you my coat, like the other day. Hope you don't mind me doing that without warning ya."

You shook your head as you shoved your arms down the sleeves. Aaah, warmth. Dante's coat was great. It wasn't as heavy or rigid as it looked, its leather supple with years of use, and it smelled entirely like Dante. It wasn't what most people would consider a really nice smell, probably. It didn't especially smell like cologne or anything. But you knew this scent from the few times you had gotten a bit closer to Dante, and you were associating it with safety, fun and relaxation. It was a great feeling, and unfortunately not one you had ever associated with a man before Dante. Being around men in general was tense for you unless they were strictly friendzoned, and you were extremely nervous the moment you had to be outside after dark, especially when there was someone behind you, even more so when that someone was a man. But with Dante? There was none of that. You were very glad about it.

"It's okay," you said softly. "You were right, I was pretty cold. Thank you."

You noticed warmth in Dante's blue eyes as he smiled even more, pleased that he hadn't accidentally overstepped your boundaries. There was something else in there as well, but you couldn't quite figure out what it was. It wasn't a scary something, but he wasn't just pleased because he hadn't offended you. There was more.

... oh well. You didn't really mind him being happy for reasons unknown to you. As long as he _was_ happy. And he certainly seemed to be as he looked at you with nothing but pure fondness.

"That's good. Where we goin' next, little kitty? You wanna see the penguins, or maybe the polar bears? Or we can go to the pettable sharks."

You tilted your head a little. Sharks? That you could touch? All day everyday.

"I want to go see the sharks," you decided, feeling a little like a child but not minding it one bit. Sharks were like, the coolest thing ever. You owned several shark pens - Jinhao 993, they were called - and you had a bit of a fictional-character-crush on Prince Sidon from _Breath of the Wild_ , although you'd never admit that last part to Dante. Poor guy may be half demon and really cool in his own right, but sharks were the best.

A few minutes later, you were getting a healthy dose of shark as you touched the scaly skin of the small sharks that were just swimming around the shallow open tank. Part of you felt terrible for them, as this was probably not a great place for them to be, but the other part of you felt glad that you could touch them without much of a risk of them trying to get a taste of your hand.

"This is really cool," you admitted.  
"It is," Dante agreed.

He was by your side, not too close so as to not make you uncomfortable, but close enough that nobody would shove their way between you two to touch the sharks. He had taken his hat off at some point, but he didn't have it with him in any visible way and you knew he would never leave it behind, so you were fairly certain it was off to the same other dimension that his Devil Sword went to when it wasn't in its owner's hands. His black shirt was much, _much_ newer than usual, with no pulled thread nor hole in sight. You noticed that he was also wearing newer pants than usual, with no trace of dirt on them. And those boots...

"Dante?"  
"Hmm? What is it, little sunshine?"

Ah, that was a new one. You didn't mind it, it was pretty cute.

"Are those new clothes? I've never seen them before."

A smirk appeared on his lips, and he looked at you with warm eyes.

"Yeah, they're new. I told ya I wanted to dress nice."

He looked really good, you had nothing to complain about, definitely. But still...

"I hope Vergil didn't give you grief for this," you chuckled.  
"It was his idea, actually. I mean, I wanted to look good for you, but he disapproved my entire wardrobe and made me go buy new clothes."

He tugged at the collar of his shirt, and you noticed then that it was a lot more formal than what he usually wore. The pants were similar though, but the boots weren't the style he usually went for.

"Is he the one who chose the clothes for you? Those look like something he'd get."  
"Yeah, unfortunately for me. That dumbass really likes tight, stuffy clothing, sheesh."   
"You look good in those, though," you complimented him shyly.

It made Dante stop tugging at his shirt, and he looked at you with stars in his eyes. He had lost his smile when he had started showing discomfort with his clothes, but now it was back and brighter than before.

"That's sweet of you. Thank you, cutie."

He offered you a wink.

"You look extra good too. Sorry I forgot to mention that before, it's just that you're always so pretty that it would get old real fast if I said it every time I thought it."

Oh, that was really smooth. You laughed a bit and got your hand out of the water. You had touched the sharks for long enough. More people were waiting to get to them, so you moved out of the way with Dante. Light flirting like that, you were fine with. You'd never say no to compliments, even if you had no idea what to do with them most of the time. You didn't get them very often, or at least not often enough to really know how to react to them.

"Thanks," you chose to go for, unsure of what to say, but definitely feeling happy about it.  
"My pleasure, little kitty. So, where are we going now?"

You finished touring the aquarium with Dante after that, taking your time and feeling very relaxed. As he had promised, he never once tried getting too close, never once tried doing anything that was very couple-oriented. He kept his hands to himself, although you saw him fidgeting a couple of times. He wanted to be closer, but he never complained about his desires and never made you feel bad for keeping a certain distance. His coat covering you was the closest you could deal with at the moment, and he absolutely respected that.

You finished your tour of the aquarium by going to the souvenir shop. You knew every single thing in there was sold at a crazy price, but you couldn't help it: you _had_ to get a plushie whenever you went somewhere they had some.

And ho boy, the choice would be hard in this place. They had tons of plushies, some small, some big, and some were so big you had no idea how you'd bring any of those back without looking ridiculous, since you had come by bus and couldn't just stuff them on the backseat of a car. Some were very realistic-looking, others were the softest, fluffiest things you had ever seen. But all of them had one thing in common: they were pretty crazily priced.

You pouted as you hesitated between a small, fluffier shark plushie and a much bigger, more realistic and less soft one. Obviously, the big one was more expensive, but it looked really cool. There was also this penguin plushie that was really cute, and this squid one that-

"Which one do you want?"

You looked at Dante with a pout.

"All of them?"

You had intended it as a joke, a way to say that you indeed wanted all of them but would limit yourself to one. But Dante grabbed every plushie you had hesitated to get, tilting his head as he looked at you.

"Did I miss one?"  
"Wait, what? Dante, no. It's just- I can take just one! And pay for it myself, as well. Dante!"

Too late, he was already at the counter. You joined him with a groan.

"Dante, come on. I don't _need_ all of those."   
"But you _want_ all of them."

He was looking at you with a smirk and an amused glow in his eyes. You frowned at him.

"Yes, but I can pay for _one_ myself. And no, that doesn't mean you can pay for all of them. Dante!"

The handsome Devil Hunter had pulled out a credit card already. The cashier was looking at you two with an uncertain look on her face. Poor girl.

"Vergil allowed me to do this, before you protest too much, little sunshine. He's preparing me a weekly date budget. This fits right into it."  
" _Dante_ , I don't _need_ all those plushies," you complained weakly.

You really wanted all of them. But you felt terrible about letting Dante pay for all of them. You offered him pitiful eyes and he huffed.

"Fine. Then choose one I can pay for you? Any one you'd like."

More reasonable. You would have been able to do this yourself, but you had a feeling Dante wouldn't budge on this. For him to have already set a budget with Vergil beforehand... yeah, no. He wouldn't let you pay for this. It had already been a difficult thing to convince him that you could pay for your aquarium ticket on your own.

"... okay. Then this one."

You hugged your awkwardly giant red shark plushie - that you absolutely had _not_ chosen because it was the same color as Sidon - as you walked out of the store with a smile, Dante by your side. You were both pleased with how things had gone, that much was obvious. Going home with the shark in your arms was a slightly awkward affair, but you giggled when Dante settled for holding the shark's tail so that it wouldn't trail off on the ground. And you smiled when the Devil Hunter walked you home, a beautiful sunset light making his fluffy hair look even fluffier. His coat, which you had given back to him after leaving the aquarium, strained against his muscles as he leaned towards you a tiny bit once you were on your porch.

"Today was really fun, little kitty. Thank you for accepting to see me."  
"I had a lot of fun too. Take care on your way back?"   
"Will do, no worries. I'll call you soon. Good evening, cutie."   
"Good evening to you too, Dante."

You went inside after that and exhaled a long sigh of relief once the door was closed, nodding to yourself.

It hadn't been that bad. And Dante had kept his word, as he usually did, so... yeah. You'd see how it would go, the next times you'd go out with Dante. But you felt more at ease with this whole free trial thing than ever before.


	5. Kitchen Mishaps

Vergil sighed, trying to focus on his book and ignore the strong smell of burnt food that was filling the Devil May Cry building. He turned the page... and closed the book when he heard something overflow and hiss as it hit the burning hot stove. He slammed his book down and stomped his way to the kitchen, knowing he'd find a complete mess there.

"Dante," he growled. "What do you think you're doing?"

His brother was trying his best to clean the stove while holding up a pot of something or other. Vergil only barely resisted the temptation to use Summoned Swords on his dumbass twin.

"Well, I was trying to make food? But it didn't work out too well," Dante explained, looking too calm considering that everything was going wrong in this room.

Vergil rolled his eyes, calmly walked to his brother, grabbed the pot, then smacked Dante out of the way with enough force to send him flying a little further. He turned the stove _and_ the oven off, got the pot into the sink and opened the oven to check what was burning in there. He pulled out a piece of fully burnt _something_ with his bare hands, and threw that right into the metallic trashcan they had in the kitchen.

"My cake!" Dante protested.  
"That was not a cake, Dante."  
"It was!"  
"Maybe an hour ago, but no more."

He then proceeded to wash the dishes, trying to get rid of the burnt scent while the oven and the stove were cooling. He'd need to really scrub the kitchen clean because his brother was hopeless at it.

"Vergil?"  
"What is it?"  
"How do you make chicken noodle soup?"

The older twin stopped what he was doing to stare at Dante, _hard_.

"You were trying to make _soup_?"  
"That, and alfredo sauce to go with pasta. I haven't tried cooking pasta yet. Why?"

Vergil shook his head and went back to scrubbing the dishes. He wouldn't even bother trying to explain to his brother that none of what he had been doing had even smelled closed to being what he wanted.

Dante sighed and grabbed a nearby towel to dry what Vergil was done cleaning. He looked properly shameful now, probably - maybe - understanding that he had been doing everything entirely wrong.

"Vergil?"  
"..."  
"Will you teach me how to cook? At least a little? I don't really want to become as good at it as you are, and I don't think I _can_ become as good at it as you are anyway, but I want to be able to cook something for her."

Well, that explained this whole mess. His brother was an idiot.

"When do you want to invite her over?" he chose to ask.  
"On Saturday night?"

That gave him two... no, three days. Okay. None of this was hard. Dante _might_ be able to pull it off.

"I will write down the recipes for you. Then, you will follow _exactly_ what I have written, and I will watch. Do you understand?" he hissed.  
"Thanks, Vergil."

There was a relieved smile on his brother's face, and Vergil mentally resigned himself to endure the smell of burnt food for the next few days. He doubted even his observation skills and superhuman reflexes would manage to save every batch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies, this is a short one! I didn't have time to write much this week, between work and doc appointments and overall trying to be a responsible adult ^^'


	6. Sweetening the Deal

You entered Devil May Cry at around five in the afternoon, just like Dante had asked you to do, and you frowned when you saw that the main room was empty and the jukebox, silent. You noticed, however, a nice smell of food, and you made your way upstairs.

"Dante?" you called out.

The Devil Hunter wasn't long to respond.

"In the kitchen!"

You headed there. You saw something blue disappear in a corner right as you entered, and you found Dante in front of the stove, stirring something with an intense look of concentration on his face.

"Sorry I couldn't come over and greet you downstairs," he apologized with a huff. "I didn't want this to like, burn."

You took a look at what he was cooking. Oooh.

"Alfredo pasta?"  
"Yep, and with some soup as an appetizer."   
"You cooked those on your own?'

He had a little sheepish smile as he looked at you.

"This batch, yes, although Vergil was ah... supervising the whole thing until a minute ago."

Oh, so that explained the blue thing disappearing. Vergil had probably warped out right as you had arrived, and the blue thing had been just a bit of his coat you had caught a glimpse of. Why was he not staying? Oh well, you'd ask later.  
  
"Supervising? Wait, you're _that_ bad at it?"

You remembered him saying something about pestering Vergil to learn how to cook, but you hadn't quite expected him to be _that_ bad at it.

"Hey, I'm not-! Okay, fine. I'm terrible. But I got better!"  
"Well, it _does_ smell good. How bad was it at first? I mean, alfredo pasta isn't too hard to make, so..."   
"Pretty sure you don't want to know, little sunshine," he laughed.

Right. That guy somehow survived on pizza and strawberry sundae. And, looking at him, it kinda made sense. Dante was a pretty rough-looking guy who always had the itch to fight demons - including his twin. It was actually hard to imagine him doing mundane activities, like going for a morning run or watching a movie with popcorn. Although, the mental image of him sitting on a lawn tractor with a bottle of beer in hand made you chuckle.

"What's so funny, little kitty?" Dante asked as he finished the food and started pouring some soup into two bowls. They looked funky and you were 99% certain that Nico had made them.  
"I can't really imagine you living a mundane life. You're always so flashy and ready to kick demon ass, I can't picture you, like, doing grocery shopping."   
"That might be because I don't do that."   
"Right, you only eat pizza," you teased him.   
"Also that, but that's not what I meant. Vergil is in charge of grocery shopping, and in charge of the maintenance of both the building's maintenance and my general existence. He's the one who buys the food, the office stuff, the toilet paper..."   
"I mean, it's hard to imagine _him_ doing that too. Office work, I understand, but the rest? I dunno."   
"It's mostly because I don't do it, so his OCD comes out. He's a bit of a control freak."

You cringed at that, and Dante smiled warmly, putting a bowl in front of you. He sat with his own bowl, and handed you a spoon.

"That's why he's not around at the moment. I told him to try not being here when I invite you over. I wouldn't want to awake bad memories in you if he happens to be too much like your ex."

That was... actually very considerate of him. He certainly didn't need to go that far, but you appreciated it nonetheless. Dante was a good man. Probably better than you deserved, but heck, you wouldn't complain about it. You did like Dante a lot, it was just the... the past experiences that held you back, really.

"Thank you. Don't feel forced to kick him out just because of me though. I mean, he lives here. I'm just a guest."  
"I know, but it's okay, really. He's fine with it too. He might come back while you're still here, later today. You can choose then if you'd rather not have him around."

A beautiful amused glow appeared in the blue of Dante's eyes. "Anyway, he said he'd rather not be around to hear me being cheesy."

And since Dante was even cheesier than his favorite food, no wonder Vergil didn't want to be there. Still, the thought made you smile.

"Okay. Time to eat?"  
"Absolutely. And tell me your honest opinion, cutie! Spoiler alert: I plan to cook for you again in the future, and I want to know what you liked and didn't like so I can make it better."

You laughed a little, but nodded and proceeded to taste the soup. That was... pretty decent, actually.

"It's good! Maybe the veggies are a touch too big? It feels a little chunkier than it could be. But the saltiness is good without being overwhelming. I like it!"  
"That's great. Anything else?" he asked, looking really eager to know your opinion.   
"I'm not a food critic, Dante," you told him, laughing. "But really, it's almost perfect. How much did you practice to make this?"   
"Let's see... I started right after our last date. But Vergil has really helped me out, I couldn't have done this without him. He's a great cook."   
"Probably learned with books."   
"Yup. He learned everything except social skills in books."

You kept on talking as you finished the soup. Apparently Dante had been practicing his cooking skills almost non-stop since you had gone to the aquarium, and the kitchen had needed multiple scrubbings to remove the smell of burned food. Vergil had been on his case pretty solidly, and had coached the Hell out of him to make him at least decent at this.

The Devil Hunter eventually asked you if you were still happy about the plushie - you were - and if there was something you wanted to do once you'd be done eating. You thought about it a bit, and you were halfway through your plate of alfredo pasta when you answered.

"I'd like to go walk around a bit, but after that, maybe we can come back here and play some games? I've brought my Switch."  
"Sounds perfect to me, cutie."

You were a little bit in a food coma by the time you were done eating, full of pasta, cheese and bread topped with garlic butter. A nap sounded like a wonderful idea, except that it was a little late and, anyway, you didn't want to fall asleep while hanging out with Dante. So you put your shoes on and went outside with the handsome Devil Hunter.

"What do you want to play when we come back?" you asked Dante, since the console was yours and you could play the games on it anytime you wanted, unlike him.  
"I'm not sure, little kitty. I'm not much of a video game kind of guy. I mean, my everyday life is practically one, with all the demons running around."   
"All right. Then I'll show you a game that I don't think is all that well-known, but that I like quite a bit nonetheless."   
"And what would that be?"   
"You'll see. It has the most unfortunately weird title in gaming history, but the gameplay is good if you ignore the lag that happens sometimes, and the story is amazing."

You hadn't expected that plot twist at all, which was cool. You liked it when games were at least a little unpredictable. Dante chuckled, and slowly reached out to push some hair away from your face. You blinked, surprised.

"Is that okay?" he asked, cautious.  
"Y-yeah. Just wasn't expecting that. Why?"   
"Because there are stars in your eyes when you talk about stuff you like, little sunshine, and I want to see them."

His voice was low, filled with warmth and sincerity. You could tell from the tension in his body that he wanted to be closer. However, even despite that, he would never make a move without your consent, and you were fully aware of that. You'd already be home and far from him if you didn't trust him.

"You're being extra cheesy," you informed him in the same tone. "But I'm not gonna complain."

He offered you a cute toothy smile, and you both started walking again. You weren't sure when you had stopped, too focused on Dante's everything to pay attention. Being hesitant to get closer didn't mean you didn't have eyes. The half-demon looked gorgeous, and nobody could even _pretend_ that wasn't true.

"How far do you want to walk?" he asked, still grinning and looking really happy.  
"Just around the block. I need to digest a bit, but after that we can go back."

You did exactly that, and soon enough you were back at Devil May Cry. You spotted Vergil immediately upon entering the building. He was at his desk, sorting through some papers, and he barely reacted when you came in.

"Do you require me to leave?" he inquired simply. His tone indicated that he'd rather stay, but that he didn't really mind leaving all that much.  
"No, it's okay," you said, smiling when you felt Dante's worried gaze on you.

As long as Vergil wasn't too close and didn't try to control _you_ , you were fine with him being around. He had never done anything to hurt you, after all. You had heard of the terrible things he had done in the past, but you could see that he was a different man now. His priorities seemed to revolve around making sure that Dante ate other foods than pizza and sundaes, that the shop stayed in business and that nobody touched the huge book collection that neatly stood in a gigantic bookshelf behind his desk. Of course, he was Sparda's son, so the pleasure of fighting was still very alluring to him, but having a place to stay and a family to come back to seemed to have helped him settle down.

So, as long as Vergil minded his own business, you wouldn't mind his presence. He was a very socially awkward person anyway, so you highly doubted he'd go out of his way to engage into a conversation with you.

"We'll be using the TV. Is that okay with you? I'll try not to put the sound too loud," you asked, not wanting to bother him when he was working.  
"... you are a more considerate person than my idiot of a brother," he noted, icy blue eyes far colder than Dante's landing on you.   
"You know I'm _right here_ and I can hear you, right?" Dante protested.   
"Evidently."   
"Speaking of being considerate, dumbass, you're not better than-"   
"I will allow the use of the TV, but only because this person will have more respect than you, Dante. She will not put it at maximum volume."

It was both a jab at Dante and a warning to you. Which was fine, really. You hadn't planned on using maximum volume anyway. You weren't a fan of loud noises either, and the game you planned on playing didn't have spoken dialogue.

You promised Vergil not to put the TV too loud, then you went to the living room upstairs with Dante. You got settled on the couch after setting up your Switch. Dante cautiously sat next to you, making sure he wasn't too close. You chose the game you wanted to play, and opened it.

"What are we playing, cutie?" he asked, curious, looking at the TV as the title screen appeared.  
"This! It's a single-player adventure-puzzle game, so I want _you_ to play, and I'll watch and give you tips."   
"The... Sexy Brutale? Weird title indeed. Although, whoa. That _is_ some _funky_ music we got here!"

He was bobbing his head to the rhythm, and you could tell he wanted to pull out some clothes to fit as well as a weapon or some kind of item to go with it. You laughed a little, watching him make some little dance moves although he was sitting.

"Relax, cowboy, and take the controller."

He took it, and you couldn't help but notice that his big hands dwarfed the Joy-Cons. Seeing the Legendary Devil Hunter with a thing that was not a weapon in his hands was a little weird, almost, but you still smiled. You could get used to that, and you watched as he started a new game.

"Whoa, whoa, what is that? What do I do? Why do I have a mask with a bloody handprint on it?"  
You laughed a little. "You'll see soon. This game is pretty short. If you've got the brains, you can easily finish this in just one evening."   
"Aww, come on, cutie, you know I'm dumb! Nero keeps saying Vergil and I share only one brain cell and I don't have it most of the time."   
"You're not _that_ dumb, Dante," you chuckled.   
"I'm not used to using my brain so much."   
"You'll see, it's all logical. I'll help you out. For now, follow the instructions in the tutorial."

You watched as Dante slowly unraveled the mysteries and secrets of the in-game mansion and casino. You remembered most of the puzzles, although some details were blurry. Still, you knew enough to point Dante in the right direction before he'd get frustrated.

"So the staff is killing the guests, uh? But why? That makes no sense," Dante mumbled after he prevented the first murder in the game. "And how does rewinding a watch reset time? This dude got some weird power or something?"  
"Can't tell you! It's a major plot point."   
"Dang it. Still, that music is great!"

You watched as he got further into the game. He went on to prevent the next two murders, then he got up with a smile.

"Oh, before I forget! I'll be right back."

He went to the kitchen and came back with a jar full of chocolate chip cookies. He put it down right into your hands, smirking. "There you go, cutie. I made these especially for you."  
"Whoa, what? Wait... all of them?"   
"Of course. Well, except two. I tasted one, and Vergil did too. We made sure they're edible."

You chuckled and opened the jar to taste a cookie. "This is really good. Whoa."  
"Glad you like them, cutie. All right, let's go and prevent the next guest from getting killed."

You happily ate cookies as Dante went to discover the next guest's story. You stopped after three cookies, not wanting to finish the jar in one evening, and you felt the need to get more comfortable at that point. You slowly scooted closer to Dante, then put your head on his shoulder, making him freeze, uncertain.

"I'm okay with this," you reassured him. "If it's fine with you? I'm just getting a bit more comfortable."  
"That's _super_ fine with me, little kitty."

Dante's voice was low and rough, vulnerable and sincere. He was smiling, however, in that slow, genuine smile he only had when he was deeply happy.

"Let's stay like this, then," you murmured.  
"You got it, cutie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Sexy Brutale is my game of the moment. I actually played it a long time ago and went back to it recently and man, the music and the ambiance and the story. Pwaah. This game is my equivalent of Silent Hill 2 for a lot of people, it resonated with me on a psychological aspect, deeply. I'm not gonna say anything more about it than what's in the fic for those who haven't played but want to try it out, but man. Super underrated game with great music (the casino soundtrack is so good and funky xD). Had to give it a shoutout somewhere xD
> 
> Hopefully you liked this chapter! I'll try writing more this week, but I'm actually just about as experienced as Reader when it comes to relationships, soooo yeah :p


	7. How was it for you?

Vergil enjoyed peace and quiet. In other words, he really, really disliked his brother at the moment, since Dante was being loud and annoying. He always was, to some extent, but this one time, it was worse than usual. The older twin put down his book and shot a pointed glare at his brother, who was telling him for the tenth time how great the date had been.

"I was in the building, Dante. I know what she said, you don't need to tell me."  
"You were eavesdropping?!"   
"Are you a complete idiot or simply retarded? I have demonic senses and so do you. You know I can hear everything that happens in the building," Vergil sighed, looking deeply annoyed.   
"Right. Well, still, she said she was okay with leaning on my shoulder! That's better than before! She didn't really want physical contact-"   
"I know, Dante."   
"Vergil, you have _no_ idea! It's greater than great! If she can be okay with this, then maybe eventually I can-"   
" _Dante_."   
"- hug her! Wouldn't that be awesome?"

Vergil went back to his book immediately. Dante laughed at him, an amused glow in his blue eyes.

"What, you thought I was gonna say something else?"  
"As a matter of fact, yes."   
"No way! I _respect_ her. If she never wants to go any further than this..."

He shook his head as he lost his smile. "If she chooses to end this, in _any_ way whatsoever, I'll accept her decision."   
"And mope about it for a year."   
"Which is my right, okay? But I'll smile for her because I can't let her feel bad about her decision, you know?That would be a jerkish move."   
"You speak like a teenager, Dante."   
"Maybe because I have the experience of one."

Vergil lowered his book again, hearing _something_ in his brother's voice that indicated that he was more serious than usual. Blue met blue, and the older twin slowly closed what he had been reading. He could go back to it anytime after this conversation was over. But the look in Dante's eyes meant that he wanted to talk.

"How was it for you, brother?" Dante asked, slow and low. "Did you... love Nero's mother?"  
"Her name was Anna."   
"Did you love her?"   
"I don't know."

It was a genuine answer. Vergil had never reacted like Dante, in any case. And since he had grown up without love for the most part, he had no idea what to call the feelings he had felt back then. Love? Infatuation? Desire?

"I did find myself experiencing a certain feeling of peace in her presence," he recalled. "I was looking forward to seeing her, as well."

He shook his head. "I feel very similarly nowadays when I find myself surrounded in books."

Dante laughed a little. "I see. Well, can't say my own feelings for her are like that exactly, but damn. I do wish I could see her everyday."

The older twin nodded stiffly, going back to his book, and Dante just smiled. It was strange to have such a conversation with his brother, but it was never unwelcome. Getting to know his twin more was always interesting. They had spent so many years apart from each other.

"Anyway, thanks for your input, brother," he said before he headed for the door. He stopped right before going through, however, and turned towards Vergil.

"Hey, Vergil. Do you... nah, never mind."  
"Do I what, Dante?"   
"Where do you think she'd like going next?

That earned him a deep sigh, and Vergil rolled his eyes a little. "How should I know? You know her more than I do."

The Devil Hunter huffed, but nodded as he went out. All right, fine, fair enough. He'd need to try getting a little investigation on the go before he'd invite her for another date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter, my bad! It's just that uh... well... I bought a new game lately and it's a lot of fun and I kinda pushed writing aside in favor of getting entangled in yet another game crush xD Hot fictional dudes, man. Can't resist them. I'll try peeling myself away from my game for a few hours to write more this week, but there is no guarantee that I'll manage to do that ^^'
> 
> Also, yeah, I'm sticking with "Anna" as my default name for Nero's mother, because that's what I called her in every other DMC fanfic I wrote :p


	8. A little break

You stared at the text message you had just gotten with a tiny bit of annoyance and a bigger bit of hesitation and uncertainty. You had been on two other dates over the course of a week and a half since Dante had first made you some food. The first had been a simple thing, you had needed to buy a few things so you had asked him to come shop with you, while the second had been a visit to a museum that the Devil Hunter had heard about. You hadn't imagined him being so interested in art, but he was always out to surprise you, apparently, and you had discovered that he was way more knowledgeable than you had ever given him credit for.

But the most important thing during those outings had been that Dante had finally gotten himself a cellphone so you wouldn't need to call him at Devil May Cry. You weren't too good with phone _calls_ , but you had nothing against text messages as long as nobody expected an immediate reply. Dante didn't, so he had gotten himself a cellphone with as cheap a contract as possible while also having illimited text messages. The phone itself was nothing big or awesome either, just the low-end model that happened to do the job for texting. It was already plenty enough for the technologically-retarded Devil Hunter, and you had spent the rest of the day trying to teach him how to use it. Funny how he could understand how to use a weapon _instantly_ but failed to figure out how to navigate something as simple and intuitive as a smartphone. Still, you couldn't blame him. He had a damn rotary phone in his office, for crying out loud.

Anyway, Dante had been texting you once in a while since then, always making sure not to overwhelm you with messages. He had also specified that he would send you at least one compliment a day, and you didn't need to reply to it. But this message had nothing to do with that. No, this one was Dante saying he was wondering if you wanted to go out during one of your days off.

 _Dante 9:34_ _  
_ _heya there, cutie! good morning! i hope you slept wonderfully :) i was wondering if you wanted to go out on a date this week, during one of your days off! i was thinking of maybe going to the amusement park?_

You sighed, glancing back up towards your TV screen. Your paused game was calling out to you. Luckily it was a game you actually _could_ pause. Otherwise you would have needed to ignore the buzzing, and you would have forgotten about it until several hours later. Still, even with the message right in front of you, and the image of a hopeful Dante in your mind, you wanted to spend a full gaming day on your own. You had picked up this great game at an extra low price on the PlayStation Store since it was a few years old, but it was still a good 25GB worth of main quests and sidequests and minigames in two cities with two different characters, with bad guys constantly trying to beat you up, and you punching the money out of them in return. You had a thing for the guy dressed in black, definitely. He kinda reminded you of Dante in some ways. Maybe it was because he had a fighting style made of spinning kicks and dance moves, and Dante did that with Balrog. Maybe it was because he loved fighting. Maybe it was because he was a rough-looking guy, but very sweet with girls nonetheless. Maybe it was because of all those reasons. Either way, you weren't going to tell Dante you had found yourself _yet another_ game character crush. There was already Sidon from _Breath of the Wild_ , and Joker from _Persona 5_ \- oh lord, his _voice_ -, and Geralt from _The Witcher_ series - another rough-looking guy with white hair who was amazing with a sword, what a surprise. Anyway, Dante certainly didn't need to know that he had yet another rival for your attention, even if that rival was entirely fictional.

Although, right now, that rival, even fictional, definitely _did_ have your attention. You wanted to go back to your game, and you wanted to be left alone until you had milked that gameplay dry, but how would Dante react to being tossed aside for a video game? He _did_ promise that you could always say no. He did make sure that you knew it was all right to want some time for yourself. But you had _never_ had a good reaction from a man before when saying no. Damn it. Well, you could only hope it would go well.

 _Me 9:41_ _  
_ _Actually, I just picked up a new game and I had in mind to game during my days off... :/ I'm sorry, I think I'll have to pass this time. But maybe next week? Knowing myself, I'll have finished it by then._

You pressed "send" and sighed again. Welp, time to game some more until you'd get a reply for that. Dante was a very slow typer, after all. Not only was he new to touch screens and texting in general, but he also had pretty big fingers and he usually didn't get the letter he wanted on the first try.

And indeed, it took a whole twenty minutes before your phone buzzed again. You were getting your ass kicked in-game by a boss and you refused to pause to check out the message. You only had time to look at it a few minutes later, and you smiled when you almost heard Dante's voice in your head as you read it.

 _Dante 10:03_ _  
_ _aaaah gotcha ;) gaming comes first! (actually your happiness comes first cutie, if gaming makes you happier than me at that moment, hell yeah gaming comes first)_

Another text came in as you were reading the first one, and you chuckled when you saw it.

 _Dante 10:09_ _  
_ _we can do that another week then :) do you mind if i text you during your days off though? i don't think i can keep away from you so much D: like, feel free to say no to that too though! wouldn't want to bother ya ;)_

You could tell he was sincere, as usual. He wanted to be able to talk to you in some way or another, even when you wanted to be alone at home in order to fully enjoy your new game. Well... actually, thinking about it, you didn't mind him texting you. You might not reply right away though...

 _Me 10:11_ _  
_ _Actually, it's fine with me. You can text me anytime, but I might be super into the game and I won't reply quickly. If that's okay with you? We could do that._

Dante's reply was decently quick this time.

 _Dante 10:13_ _  
_ _no problem, little kitty! it'll mostly be just me complaining or telling you what's around me or stuff like that :p no need to reply for most of those, and never feel forced to talk to me if you don't wanna! just uh, maybe lemme know? so that I know you're okay? i do worry about you :(_

What a sweetheart. That man was just- so damn sweet. A bit more and you'd get diabetes. Not that you minded. At all.

 _Me 10:15_ _  
_ _If I ever feel like not talking for a while, I'll just let you know real quick before disappearing. Would that be good enough?_

 _Dante 10:19_ _  
_ _it would be perfect, cutie :) all right, i'll let ya have some fun, see ya some other time :)_

You put your phone down with a smile as you went back to the game. Now that the boss fight was over, you'd thoroughly enjoy watching the cutscene, and then you'd take your favorite character to the karaoke in order to hear him sing a song so bad and cringe-worthy it was good.

***

You woke up at eleven on your first day off - a byproduct of going to bed at four in the morning for gaming reasons - and grabbed something to drink and eat from the kitchen. Your game was calling out to you, so you made your way to the living room. You got your console out of rest mode and settled with some frozen strawberries and a bit of cheese for breakfast. You never enjoyed eating when you just woke up, but you had to, or else you could very easily spend the entire day on "just one more sidequest". It had happened once or twice before, when you got up, gamed a bit, and the next time you looked at the time it was almost eight at night, and you had eaten nothing until then. Definitely not good for your health.

So you ate your "breakfast" while the cutscene happened - you always made sure to let go of the game right before what would probably be a cutscene, if you could help it, so that you could eat while watching - and found yourself trying to chew a mouthful of frozen strawberries in a hurry when it turned out that this cutscene wasn't that long at all. You heard your phone buzz in the middle of running down a street to go meet some guy who would bring you to meet another guy, but you ignored it until you were right next to where you had to go. You only checked it once you saw the man you were supposed to talk to.

 _Dante 11:22_ _  
_ _good morning beautiful :)_

Ah, that was a new one. Not that you minded. Dante could definitely compliment you all day, and you knew it wasn't done to be creepy.

 _Dante 11:25_ _  
_ _i'm in town right now and wow it's hot outside. not a fan of summer, i gotta say_

You chuckled as you typed your reply.

 _Me 11:28_ _  
_ _Then lose the coat? :p_

His reply was pretty quick this time.

 _Dante 11:30_ _  
_ _what? no! :o how would people recognize me otherwise? i'm famous as long as i got this on :)_

You rolled your eyes with a little smile. As if he weren't already easy enough to spot in a crowd with his long, silky white hair. You definitely had a thing for guys with long hair apparently. Your favorite character in the game had long hair too.

 _Me 11:32_ _  
_ _Dummy. Except Vergil, no one else just walks around with white hair at your age. Even bleached hair doesn't look like that, even if they try re-dying it to a more silvery color. Plus, I bet you got a few red shirts around. Do you really need to wear a coat in this temperature? :p_

 _Dante 11:37_ _  
_ _aaawww c'mon, cutie. asking me to take that coat off would be like asking vergil to keep his hair down for a day_

Okay, yeah, that kind of made sense. Those two were hopeless when it came to deviating even slightly from their usual style. You were pretty sure you had never seen Vergil with his hair down. You _had_ seen Dante with his hair _up_ though, and you had also seen him without his coat a few times, usually at Devil May Cry, or when he'd put it on your shoulders if you were cold. Oh, speaking of.

 _Me 11:39_ _  
_ _You took your coat off plenty of times to put it on me though._

 _Dante 11:41_ _  
_ _that's different!_

You rolled your eyes with a smile, but decided not to argue. Your cellphone went right back to the low table in front of you, and you propped your feet up on said table as your took your controller again. A few cutscenes and three fights later, you checked your phone again, having heard it vibrate while you were playing.

 _Dante 12:03_ _  
_ _there's this really cute dress in a store i just passed and wow i bet you'd look gorgeous wearing it :) maybe next time we hang out we can come here and you could try it? :) not that your usual look has anything wrong with it of course! just, i think it would make you even prettier, when i didn't think that was possible_

Damn that sweet talker. You smiled when reading the message, and it stayed there while you were typing your reply. As much as your current game crush had your attention, he certainly couldn't make you feel so many butterflies in your stomach with just a few words.

 _Me 12:12_ _  
_ _Stop being so sweet, you're giving me diabetes. And sure, I'd love to try it out. So maybe we can go shopping next time then? I need a few more things actually, so it would be perfect._

You could practically see him jump around in happiness at that when his message came in.

 _Dante 12:17_ _  
_ _sure thing cutie! :D shopping it is!_

You texted back and forth for a little while, exchanging ideas of where else you could go during your shopping trip. The city downtown had a great mall with a lot of stores you happened to like - including a video game store that you would certainly avoid to not fall for yet another game - and there was also another mall connected to it by an underground tunnel, so you could go there too.

An hour later, your console went into rest mode by itself, and you laughed when you noticed that. You had been texting Dante for so long that you hadn't noticed the time fly by. It was good though, it meant that you enjoyed talking to Dante, even when you weren't around him, even when you actually felt like staying home. The danger came in the annoyance that could creep up on your when you weren't in a very sociable mood, but you had felt none of it, and you still couldn't feel any.

A smile appeared on your lips without you really noticing, and you took your controller to wake up your PS4.

Although you were glad to be home, glad to be gaming, you definitely were looking forward to going on a shopping spree with Dante next time you'd hang out with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooof I'm sorry for the time it took to pump out an actual chapter! Just like Reader, I'm currently lost in game limbo, all because of the game I hinted at in this chapter and the sequels to it that I told myself I wouldn't get when I started it... yeah, that failed :p Bonus points for you if you can guess what it is from the hints alone, although, really, one of the hints is a BIG one xD


	9. Argument

There was a _very_ nervous aura around Dante that Vergil didn't quite enjoy as his brother paced around the office. He seemed to want to say something, but it didn't come out, and it took a few more minutes only before the older twin sent some Summoned Swords right at Dante's feet, stopping him in his tracks and making him yelp.

"What the _fuck_ Vergil?!"   
"First, stop using Nero's language. Second, if you want to say something, out with it."   
"I can say what I want, brother."

There was a beat of silence. Then Dante sighed and plopped himself right into his office chair with a deep groan.

"It's just- I'm uh, I'm going shopping with her soon."  
"Yes, that much I'm aware of. You've told me exactly eight times, Dante. This is the ninth."   
"I know, I know! But I uh, I'm gonna need..."

Dante smacked his head right onto his desk as he tried bowing desperately.

"I'm gonna need a bigger date budget! Please!"

Ah. Vergil's cold eyes glowed with just a hint of amusement. He probably should have expected something like that. He wasn't quite surprised by the request, but he hadn't expected it would be _now_.

"Dante, there's a reason why it's a budget and why I limit it."  
"I know! But, Vergil-"

Watching his younger twin squirm and plead was definitely something Vergil could now add to his list of hobbies, as twisted as it was. He may be the older twin, but Dante usually had the upper hand, as much as he hated to admit it, and what was going on at the moment was something he could _definitely_ get used to.

"No buts, Dante. You need not ruin yourself over a mere woman."

He felt the wrongness of his words the moment he said them. Dante's expression turned cold and harsh, and he lifted his face from the desk with a snarl.

"What did you just call her?"

A mere woman. Vergil sighed. He shouldn't have said that, if only because he had been head over heels for a woman too, a long time ago, enough that he had kept her close, and close enough that they had ended up conceiving Nero.

"I shall add an additional amount of three hundred. Will that suffice?" he chose to ask instead, refusing to apologize even if he knew he had been the one in the wrong.

But Dante wasn't accepting that, and he got up with a loud clatter of his chair against the hard wooden floor.

"What. Did you. _Call her?_ "

A mere woman. He could have chosen worse insults, but apparently Dante was ready to bite his head off. Damn it. There was no escaping this one. Vergil got up, the Yamato in hand, and let out a disdainful huff.

"If you insist on fighting me for my choice of words, very well. However, we shall do this outside."

Wrecking the shop itself didn't bother him all that much. Wrecking his important paperwork and, more importantly, potentially spilling blood on Nero's latest letter _did_ bother him a lot more. He stepped outside, sword in hand, and scoffed when Dante tried attacking him by surprise. The Yamato blocked the hit while still in its sheath, but it didn't take long before it was singing in the warm evening air.

***

Thank whoever was up there that they had demon blood, Vergil thought as he leaned against the outside wall of Devil May Cry, a deep gash at his side cutting his breath short. He hissed and stood straighter, letting it heal, his coat mending itself after a minute.

"Four hundred," he suggested.  
"... five."   
"Four fifty."

Dante growled, but straightened up and let Devil Sword Dante disappear. He was still pissed off that Vergil had _dared_ call that cutie a "mere woman". She wasn't a "mere woman", she was the one he chose, the one he loved so much he'd sacrifice anything for her, even his own happiness, as long as it kept _her_ happy.

"... four fifty more than my usual weekly budget, fine. I can use last week's as well?"  
"Evidently."

Vergil walked back inside, and Dante followed. They both collapsed on the couch, allowing their wounds to disappear little by little.

"I love her, Vergil," Dante argued quietly. "She's not a mere woman. She's my chosen mate, just like our father chose our mother."  
"Even if she ends up not returning your feelings, Dante? This is dangerous."   
"I know. But I'm gonna be okay either way. As long as she's happy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still in game limbo and getting about five hours of sleep per night because of that :p My bad for the short chapter. I'm terrible at dealing with my hyperfixations.


	10. Shopping

You self-consciously pulled on the hem of your dress, unused to wearing one, but determined to look cute for Dante since you were going shopping with him. He was always going all-out for you, after all, and you wanted to show him that you cared too, that you wanted this to happen. The one-month free trial thing was coming to an end soon, and although Dante assured you that you didn't need to force yourself to give him an answer then, you still wanted to figure it out quickly, for his sake. He deserved an answer, deserved to know whether this could go further, or whether you should just go back to being friends. You were pretty sure you were already more than friends by now though. Nobody else made your heart skip and/or beat like crazy quite like Dante did, and after watching some of the cutscenes in your new addiction of a game you had caught yourself yearning for someone to take good care of you, too. Your brain had summoned images of Dante maybe pulling you flush to his chest and surrounding you in warmth and strength, and you had found yourself closing your eyes to better give in to the imaginary feeling.

"Hey, cutie. You okay?"

You opened eyes you hadn't noticed you had closed, and you smiled when you saw Dante standing in front of you, his beautiful blue gaze shimmering in adoration as he took you in. You had worried the dress wouldn't do much for him, but obviously there had been nothing for you to worry about.

"I'm okay. Sorry, I was lost in thought. How was your week?"   
"Lonely! Vergil headed out to Nero's place for a few days, and although he's just buggin' me all the time it does feel pretty empty at the office without him around."   
"Oh. Well, how about we fix your loneliness today then? We're spending the entire day shopping, right?"

He flashed a toothy grin at you. "Hell yeah. I even managed to get extra budget for that. You'll let me buy you a few things, yeah?"   
"If you insist," you chuckled, your wallet crying in relief that it wasn't going to shoulder the shopping spree all on its own.

You started heading towards your favorite mall, Dante casually walking by your side, hands in his pockets. He tilted his head towards you at some point, a smile on his lips.

"So, little kitty. How was  _ your _ week? Got some good gaming done?"

You had a wide smile in return, "Dante, you  _ know _ that if you get me started on something I like, I won't stop on my own, right?"   
"I don't mind that at all, beautiful. C'mon, tell me. What was your game about?"

You rubbed your cheek thoughtfully. Where to start? You ended up telling him about the series in general, the characters, what they did, what they became later on - since this was a prequel, and you had ended up buying the other games -, before you explained the stories in this game in particular for each of them. You had a clear preference for that one character and his story, feeling that it was much deeper and more thought-out than the other one's, and Dante quickly picked up in that, rubbing his stubble with a fake pout.

"Aaah, gotcha. I have a rival, then," he joked, although his voice sounded serious. There was a little glint of amusement in his eyes though, assuring you that he was just kidding.   
"Exactly," you decided to play along, "and he's crazier than you are. At least towards the end of the prequel, and in the other games too. I think he kind of... broke a little on the inside because of the events of the game and what the bad guys did to the girl he loves."   
"Broke, uh? Tell me more."

You explained more about the game to him, and Dante listened with rapt attention. He hummed once you were done, shaking his head.

"You know, I don't think he's broken. Not in that way, at least," he said thoughtfully.   
"What do you mean?"   
"You said he was imprisoned for years, right? I think... I think he just gets sick of cages and he chooses to live in a different way in order to feel free."

He sounded almost like he knew what that was about. You frowned at him.

"Dante?"   
"I know the trouble I could get into, doing what I do. Not- not hunting demons, I mean, but everything in between. The me who isn't just slaying demons lives a pretty weird life too, if you ask me, compared to your regular, normal-ass dude. Vergil's there now to keep me in check, but... but I guess I get your character guy."

He lifted one of his hands in front of him then closed it into a fist before opening it, and closing it again. He did that a few times, then kept it closed, his eyes a little darker as he stared at it.

"I mean, it's not the same at all, but... I've always lived in the shadow of my father's exploits. People expect me to be as good as he was. They expect  _ Vergil _ to be as good as he was. Or, if they don't, then they expect us to be half as good because we have human blood in us. It's always about expectations. In a way, it's a cage, because I could never escape it to just go and live a normal life elsewhere. It doesn't work that way. But if I  _ could _ escape what I am, then yeah, I bet I'd seem a little crazy to anyone else, even if I found a different job."

He was rambling, and he looked like he was talking to himself more than he was talking to you. He seemed kind of lost, and you hesitated for a second before you gently, slowly wrapped both hands around his arm and pulled yourself closer to him, ending up hugging his arm. He blinked a few times, then turned, looking at your hands in disbelief.

"Dante," you said softly. "Are you okay?"

You didn't want to pry. Dante was always looking so carefree, but you knew he had more going on than the goofy goofball he pretended to be 24/7. Your favorite character of the moment did, too. But you wouldn't ask Dante. If he wanted to tell you, he would.

"Little kitty, you're... you're touching me," he murmured, still staring at your hands in disbelief, making you smile.   
"Yeah. I am."   
"Not just your head on my shoulder."   
"I know."

He shook a little, but when he smiled it was genuine, bright, and incredibly, deeply happy. His eyes almost glowed a brighter blue from it, and you giggled. You definitely liked seeing Dante so happy.

"Thank you," he said, his voice low and deep, "for trusting me."   
"I know you wouldn't hurt me," and you found yourself truly believing what you said. Dante wouldn't hurt you. Not voluntarily, and even involuntarily you highly doubted he'd ever do anything that even  _ might _ upset you.   
"I do my damn best. As long as you're happy, then so am I, cutie."

You blinked, then hugged Dante's arm a bit more. He used his free hand to gently push some strands of hair out of your face.

"What is it, little kitty?"   
"It's just- I think you might be even more similar to that character than you thought."   
"Hm? How so?"   
"Well... he makes sure she's happy, even if he isn't. I think... I think there's no love purer than that, wishing for someone's happiness even if it means sacrificing your own. It's a very sad form of love, but a very pure one."

One you were incredibly glad Dante seemed to feel, if what he was saying was any indication. Not just glad, but flattered, and just- just, happy about. Honored might be a better word, and yet even that wasn't strong enough for the way you felt. You didn't feel forced to love Dante back, but with how sweet and kind and overall  _ great _ he was, why  _ wouldn't _ you love him back? You were only just now finding out that you wanted to be closer to him, and that was why you were hugging his arm and refusing to let go.

"Thank you, Dante," it was your turn to say, "for never forcing me to do anything."

His expression was open when he very slowly leaned towards you to kiss your forehead, giving you plenty of time to tell him to stop if you didn't want this. But you let him, your breath hitching when you felt his beard against your skin, followed by his lips.

"You don't need to thank me for that," he purred, and you smiled as you headed for the stores, still holding on to Dante's arm and only loosening your grip to make it easier to walk.

***

You walked out of the dressing room and pulled on the hem of the dress, even more self-conscious than before because this one was shorter. But it was the one Dante had spotted the other day, and you had accepted at least trying it on for him. It  _ was _ super cute, and it did fit, but it was shorter than what you were used to. You still came out with it, curious to see what Dante would think.

His jaw was pretty much on the floor by the time you took a moment to look at him, and you offered him an amused smile.

"So? What do you think?" you asked uselessly, because he was already pawing at his coat to search for his wallet.   
"You look gorgeous," he breathed out, giving up the search for now since he couldn't tear his eyes off of you. "Absolutely stunning."

You felt your face burn quietly under his stare, and you giggled, amused, flattered and incredibly embarrassed all at once.

"So... I take it we'll buy it?"   
"Of course I'm buying it for you!"

He finally managed to look away and he started fishing for his wallet, finally finding it after a few seconds. He looked back at you from head to toes, his smile wide and his eyes bright.

"Is it okay with you if we find some cute shoes to go with the dress? Your shoes are great, don't get me wrong, but might as well get you some new ones too that will be absolutely perfect, right?"

It was a suggestion, not a 'we really should do this', so you found yourself nodding, agreeing to this if only because you knew Dante meant well. He liked seeing you look pretty and you couldn't find it in you to deny him.

"Okay. New shoes. Oh, but no big heels, okay? I can't walk in those."   
"No problem, cutie! Leave it to me."

Turns out, Dante was actually excellent at picking out different accessories to go with an outfit and really make it work. You weren't exactly surprised, to be honest, since he managed to make his own usual attire work just fine, striking the perfect balance between the 'I don't give a shit about my clothes' vibe and the 'you know what, I know I look good with what I'm wearing' one. He wore three different shades of black - shirt, pants and gloves - and yet it still worked just fine. He managed to make his red coat look like it belonged there no matter the weather, as well, so maybe it  _ really _ wasn't all that surprising that he found cute shoes for you in the first store you visited, and they looked  _ perfect _ with your new dress.

Then he found a bracelet, and a delicate silver necklace, and one small flowery accessory to put in your hair and complete the ensemble. He stood in front of you with a grin, both proud and flustered with how cute you were.

"You're so cute, little kitty. So damn cute. I'm gonna need to be extra vigilant today."   
"Uh? Vigilant? Why?" you asked, walking towards him to take his hand so you could shop some more.   
"Because if I'm not, someone else is  _ bound _ to be charmed and try to get ya!"

You laughed, squeezing his hand gently. You were at ease with this. It was like hugging his arm, except that you both had more room to be able to walk without bumping into each other.

"I don't think I'm cute enough for that, Dante," you chuckled.   
"What?! Have you really looked at yourself in the mirror?" he retorted immediately, voice filled with disbelief. "You look perfect! Like, like-"

He breathed out a little laugh too, "fuck, as wrong as it's gonna sound coming from a half-demon, you look like an  _ angel." _

You squeezed harder, flattered. Whoa. "Dante..."   
"Anyway, just- let me compliment you, okay? Because I do believe what I'm saying. You're the cutest, little kitty."

You smiled at him, which made him grin back. If Dante had any sort of plan to bring you back home to Devil May Cry after this, you thought, well, you would definitely not refuse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've finished the three games I bought (Yakuza 0, Kiwami, and Kiwami 2) two times each by now, with all side stories done in Yakuza 0 (although I'm never gonna platinum those games because hell no, I'm not gambling myself to death), and I'm still nowhere near able to deal with my hyperfixation, so this chapter was a bit of a struggle to write. The idea was there but I had to summon my inner Dante to avoid making him speak like Majima, with all the MajiMako fics I've been writing xD Welp.
> 
> Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll try my best to pump out a new one in less time than it took to get this one done!


	11. Finally

Turns out, Dante  _ did _ have plans to bring you back to Devil May Cry afterwards, if only because Vergil was away at Nero's place and Dante had been working hard to get some ingredients in order to cook something for you without his brother nagging him the entire time. He also had a batch of cookies ready for you in a jar, and you took one while you sat at the table, watching him cook with more confidence than the previous time.

"Have you been practicing?" you asked, teasing, to which he answered with a toothy grin.   
"Hell yeah I have. I'm not as good as Vergil, but, you know. It's getting there."   
"Whoaaa. You're so cool, Dante!" you decided to humor him.

It made him laugh as he kept cooking, and soon enough you found yourself in front of a very decent meal that smelled delicious. The presentation wasn't the best, but that was absolutely no problem. As long as it tasted good, you were okay with it.

And it did taste good, which you made sure to tell Dante between two bites. It made him puff out his chest proudly, preening at the praise.

"Anything for you, little kitty. We got the cookies for dessert, and I also got a cake. Not one I made, though," he admitted sheepishly. "I'm not good enough for that yet."

You still appreciated the thought and you stuffed your face full of cake after that, Dante doing the same. Your scale would be mad at you for putting on weight, but you couldn't find it in you to be bothered. Dante was looking at you with adoration plainly obvious in his eyes even as you took a big bite of cake, trying not to smile a chocolatey grin. It warmed your heart and made butterflies flutter in your stomach. Such a handsome man. And he was sweet, and strong, and brave, and kind, and-

"Don't move, you got something there," he murmured and wiped some icing at the corner of your mouth with the tip of a finger. He then licked his finger clean, offering you a little chuckle.

How was he so sweet all the time? How was he such a wonderful man? How had you gotten so lucky?

"Dante?"   
"Yeah, cutie?"   
"I'm not gonna fit in the dress you got me anymore if you feed me like that."

He laughed and pulled the cookie jar towards the two of you, a devious smile on his lips. Something amused glinted in his eyes. He took out two cookies, one for you and one for himself.

"I'll buy you another one then."

***

You crashed on the couch in the living room with Dante, giggling at his dumb jokes and cheesy one-liners. You couldn't remember the last time you had laughed that much without being drunk. It almost felt like you were, actually, your entire being floating on a little happy cloud. You sat close to Dante this time, feeling his warmth radiating into your side. You felt some hesitation coming from him, so you snuggled closer, squeezing yourself underneath his arm. He relaxed at that and allowed himself to drape his arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer.

"Is that okay, cutie?" he still asked, his voice low and filled with care. You could tell he was ready to pull his arm back if you changed your mind, but you didn't plan on being mean to him. You got comfortable where you were, humming.   
"Yeah. Thank you, Dante. For today, and for... I mean, for everything."   
"Hm? What's that about, little kitty? You don't have to thank me for that. I'm just doin' what any man who loves you should do."   
"Still. It's not because someone  _ should _ do something that they  _ will, _ and- I mean, I've tried getting more comfortable before, with other men, but... not every man out there is willing to wait for someone like me. And not every man out there who's willing to wait is willing to court without expecting the other person to necessarily accept going further. I'm not sure if that makes any sense..."   
"I get what you mean, cutie, but I'm telling you: what I've been doing, what I'm currently doing? It's what it should be like. You shouldn't feel pressured to accept anything. The other day, you wanted to stay home and have some time for yourself, and that's perfectly fine. And if you accept us being a couple - and don't feel like you  _ have to _ \- it'll still be perfectly fine."

He went for a tiny, very sweet kiss on your forehead, making sure you were still comfortable with this. It wasn't because you accepted it once that you had to accept it every other time, and he wanted you to know that.

"You know what I think? Love shouldn't build cages, but open windows so you can fly free. It's not about keeping you for myself and being possessive, far from it; it's about allowing you to feel like you belong in my arms, and allowing you to be on your own when you need it. Just like we're doing now, cutie."

You looked up and found Dante's beautiful blue eyes. They were filled with warmth and love, and you felt your heart beat faster. You knew Dante was sincere.

You used a hand to gently push some strands of silky white hair to the side. Dante might look rough, but you knew he still took care of himself. He smelled good, and his beard was actually trimmed despite not really looking like it. Sometimes you wondered what he'd look like with a ponytail. You repressed a smile when you imagined him in the same getup as your favorite game character of the moment. Was his hair long enough for a ponytail, even?

"What are you laughing at?" he asked in a low but amused voice, noticing the little glint in your eyes.   
"Oh, nothing," you chuckled. "Just wondering what you'd look like with a ponytail, cowboy."

He huffed but got up, making you frown. "Dante?"   
"Can't let you die of curiosity, now, can I? Gimme a sec."

He headed out of the room, but came back a minute later with a thin strip of leather, shrugging. "I don't have hairties, but I do have this. You wanna help?"

Your eyes lit up and you nodded with a wide smile. Dante laughed and sat back on the couch, handing you a brush.

"There you go. I don't think everything's long enough to hold, but you can try."

As a matter of fact, he was right. The front of his hair wasn't quite long enough to stay in the ponytail you made, so you let it loose and instead focused on brushing his silky locks to then tie them, making sure not to pull too hard. You made him turn once you were done and you nodded, approving his appearance.

Hot damn. Dante looked  _ really _ good with a ponytail.

"So? Whaddya think, little kitty?"

You nodded, smiling at him.

"You look good. I don't know what I was expecting, but... I didn't think you'd look  _ that _ good with a ponytail."   
"Hey, I  _ always _ look good, don't I?"   
"You do," you admitted without any shame.

Dante offered you a crooked grin, but you could see that he was really flattered. You reached for the leather strip and undid his hair, which made him raise his brows at you, curious.

"You like my usual style that much better, uh?"   
"Actually, your hair is really soft. I was hoping you'd let me play with it some more."   
"Oh. Sure."

He was huffing in amusement as he settled on the floor in front of the couch, giving you free reign over his hair. You started carding your fingers through it, appreciating the softness of the white locks. Eventually you felt and heard a deep rumble vibrating through your fingers. You wondered what it was for a moment, but then you smiled when you understood.

Dante was  _ purring. _

"Demons purr, Dante?" you asked although you knew the answer already.   
"Only when we're  _ really _ comfortable, cutie."   
"It's the first time I hear you do it."   
"It's not like I can really control it. I guess it would be like, ah... like smiling, I suppose? Or like laughing? When something's real funny, you smile and you laugh, and although you can fake it or stop yourself from doing it, there are moments when it's all natural? It's a little like that. Want me to stop?"   
"No, not at all. I like it."

Just like it felt almost like a crime to stop petting a purring cat, it also felt almost like a crime to force Dante to stop purring while you were playing with his hair. You were glad he was comfortable enough around you to do it.

"You know," he said softly, the rumbling never stopping, "I often purr when we're together, little kitty. But usually we're in more crowded and loud places, so I guess that's why you didn't notice."

Your hands paused in his hair halfway through braiding it, and you took a few seconds to process the information. Dante... often purred. With you. Even in public places.

"Thank you," you murmured, going back to braiding his hair.

For telling you, for letting you know that he was comfortable with you, even if you took your sweet time trying to decide whether you were ready for a relationship.

You finished the braid, then undid it with your fingers, gentle, making sure not to hurt Dante. You then slid down the couch to sit by his side, snuggled against him, and Dante hummed as he put his arm around your shoulders again. Your hands went for his shirt and pulled gently.

Closer. You needed to be closer.

You hesitated for a second before you finally allowed your lips to touch Dante's. The kiss was chaste, but tender, and you closed your eyes as the rumble got louder. Soon, too soon, Dante moved back a bit, his breath ghosting over your mouth. He was shaking a little. Scared that he had read this wrong even if you had made the first move.

"Cutie..."

You pulled him back for another kiss, feeling his arms wrap around you to keep you close. You felt  _ safe. _ Safer than you had ever felt before. Dante breathed deeply when you parted again, and his purr got  _ even louder _ somehow, vibrating through your entire body. He offered you a slow, dazed smile. He could smell that you felt safe, and that made him incredibly happy.

"Cutie? I love you," he murmured, and this time he was the one who initiated the kiss, keeping it chaste to avoid upsetting you. It made you smile into it, and you snuggled in Dante's arms once it was over, letting his loud purring surround you fully.   
"I love you too, Dante. Sorry it took me so long to get it."   
"Hey, don't worry about that, beautiful. You could have taken longer and I wouldn't have been mad at you. I'm not complaining that it didn't take too long, though."

You laughed a little and closed your eyes, allowing yourself to lower every barrier around you. You let yourself be vulnerable in Dante's arms, knowing he wouldn't take advantage of it. Wouldn't take advantage of  _ you. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It finally happened! :D
> 
> Only the epilogue left now. I'm sorry for the slow updates towards the end of it, you know what happened, I don't need to tell you xD


	12. Epilogue

Vergil got up the moment you showed up at Devil May Cry, closing his book with a tiny sigh. You laughed a little, noticing that he seemed uneasy, putting your bag down near the door.

"You don't need to leave, Vergil."  
"I believe my brother would beg to differ."  
"And you'd be right!" Dante intervened, jumping down from the second floor to land right in front of you, picking you up into a - tender and gentle still - bear hug.

You giggled and stopped Dante from kissing you with a finger against his lips, smirking at him.

"Not here, cowboy. I know you _love_ seeing Vergil squirm, but you need to respect him more than that."  
"He can handle this. I live here too, I can do what I want!"  
"Dante, be kinder to him. He already bears with us more than most siblings would."

It had been six months since you had first kissed Dante. Every day was like during that "free trial", except that you were closer physically and emotionally. Whenever you wanted to take some time for yourself, you didn't feel afraid to tell him. You did, and he told you it was fine, and you could spend some time on your own. Even when you were together, he wasn't possessive - not seriously, at least. Sometimes he joked that other men would snatch you up if he wasn't careful, but all in all, he made sure you never felt forced to be there. Like with any couple, you had your arguments at times, but you knew that communication was vital, and nothing bad ever lasted more than a few minutes at the most.

And meanwhile, Vergil had been nothing but patient with your antics, prompting you to feel more comfortable in _his_ presence as well. Especially since he had put up with Dante being a drama queen for almost a month. _Especially_ since he had supported Dante through this whole thing, helping him out however he could and smacking him whenever he needed it. You were pretty sure things wouldn't have worked out as well as they had without him and, for that, you were grateful.

"Anyway," you said, pulling yourself out of your thoughts, "here it is. The surprise I told you about."

You took the bag you had left near the door and opened it, unveiling a tasty-looking chocolate cake with strawberries on top. You put it down on Dante's desk, noticing your lover practically drooling. You glanced at Vergil and saw him trying to discreetly sniff the air, curious about it too. It made you smile.

"It's you guys' birthday tomorrow, but I have work then, so I figured we could celebrate it early!" you announced, pulling out a long knife to slice the cake.  
"Wait, we're not- do I really need to share this with Vergil?" Dante whined, deflating.  
"Of _course_ you do. Tell me, Dante, who taught you to cook?"  
"... Vergil."  
"And who budgeted our dates so that you wouldn't be broke afterwards?"  
"... Vergil."  
"And who-"  
"Cutie, please. I get it."

You laughed and patted Dante's arm gently, getting on your tiptoes to press a quick kiss on his cheek. You hadn't told him yet, but this cake was just the first part of the celebration you had in mind for him. You wanted to celebrate Vergil's birthday as well, since it was at the same time, but afterwards you had other plans. And that included finally, finally bringing Dante back to your place, which you hadn't done yet.

You trusted Dante. You trusted him to not hurt you. You trusted him to not be a creep by showing up at your place when you wanted to be alone.

And you trusted him to be sweet and gentle and amazing when you'd finally allow him to make love to you and erase the last few remaining scars that remained from your past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, the end! I'm sorry it took so long to update some of those chapters, a lot happened between my sprained ankle messing with me, and me discovering a game series and falling in love with it. I hope you still enjoyed the story, and thank you so much for sticking with me to the end!


End file.
